Preparation of N-doped carbon dots based on starch and their application in white LED

N-doped carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized simply and economically by a one-step hydrothermal method using starch as a carbon source and ethylenediamine (EDA) as a nitrogen dopant. The prepared CDs possess the properties of excitation-wavelength dependence and emit blue fluorescence under the excitation wavelength of 365 nm. CDs/starch composite was prepared to achieve the solid-state emission of CDs and their application in light emitting diode (LED) as fluorescent materials. White LED, with CIE coordinates of (0.33, 0.37) and correlated color temperature of 5462 K, was obtained by combining CDs/starch and ultraviolet LED light source, indicating that starch-based CDs have the promising potential in the field of optoelectronic devicesPeer reviewe

An Efficient Synthesis and Photoelectric Properties of Green Carbon Quantum Dots with High Fluorescent Quantum Yield

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)To greatly improve the production quality and efficiency of carbon quantum dots (CQDs), and provide a new approach for the large-scale production of high-quality CQDs, green carbon quantum dots (g-CQDs) with high product yield (PY) and high fluorescent quantum yield (QY) were synthesized by an efficient one-step solvothermal method with 2,7-dihydroxynaphthalene as the carbon source and ethylenediamine as the nitrogen dopant in this study. The PY and QY of g-CQDs were optimised by adjusting reaction parameters such as an amount of added ethylenediamine, reaction temperature, and reaction duration. The results showed that the maximum PY and QY values of g-CQDs were achieved, which were 70.90% and 62.98%, respectively when the amount of added ethylenediamine, reaction temperature, and reaction duration were 4 mL, 180 °C, and 12 h, respectively. With the optimised QY value of g-CQDs, white light emitting diodes (white LEDs) were prepared by combining g-CQDs and blue chip. The colour rendering index of white LEDs reached 87, and the correlated colour temperature was 2520 K, which belongs to the warm white light area and is suitable for indoor lighting. These results indicate that g-CQDs have potential and wide application prospects in the field of white LEDs.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

One-step hydrothermal synthesis of fluorescence carbon quantum dots with high product yield and quantum yield

A one-step hydrothermal synthesis of nitrogen and silicon co-doped fluorescence carbon quantum dots (N,Si-CQDs), from citric acid monohydrate and silane coupling agent KH-792 with a high product yield (PY) of 52.56% and high quantum yield (QY) of 97.32%, was developed. This greatly improves both the PY and QY of CQDs and provides a new approach for a large-scale production of high-quality CQDs. Furthermore, N,Si-CQDs were employed as phosphors without dispersants to fabricate white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) with the color coordinates at (0.29, 0.32). It is suggested that N,Si-CQDs have great potential as promising fluorescent materials to be applied in WLEDs.Peer reviewe

Transcription factor Sp1 induces ADAM17 and contributes to tumor cell invasiveness under hypoxia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Expression of the Sp1 transcription factor is induced by hypoxia, and the ADAM17 promoter contains predicted Sp1 binding sites. ADAM17 contributes to hypoxic-induce invasiveness of glioma. In this study, we investigated whether Sp1 transcription factor induces ADAM17 and/or contributes to tumor cell invasiveness in hypoxia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Employing RT-PCR and Western blot, we examined the role of Sp1 in ADAM17 transcription/expression under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, and whether it binds to the ADAM17 GC-rich promoter region using a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. Additionally, we tested the effect of Sp1 suppression in tumor cell invasion and migration, using Matrigel basement membrane invasion chambers, a scratch wound-healing assay, and small interfering RNA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we found that Sp1 binds to the ADAM17 promoter, and that Sp1 regulates ADAM17 expression under hypoxia. Furthermore, suppression of Sp1 decreases invasiveness and migration in U87 tumor cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest the Sp1 transcription factor mediates ADAM17 expression under hypoxia, regulates glioma invasiveness, and thus, may be a target for anti-invasion therapies.</p